Thank God for His mercy, Kathy and I arrived safely in Guangzhou on April 2 via Taiwan and Hong Kong. I was planning to write this newsletter in the middle of May. On May 13, while visiting Dong Yuan County Church in He Yuan City, Kathy might have contracted an infection. She felt a ringing sensation on her left ear the next day when we returned to Clifford Estate. The right ear was also affected on Sunday May 18. A visit to the local clinic was made on Monday followed by a trip to the urgent care facility in Hong Kong the day after. She was then referred to a specialist on Friday. The diagnosis was otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear), which caused the contraction of blood vessel and imbalance in the middle ear. This condition is usually treated with steroids. Since Kathy is diabetic, a hospital stay was required to observe her sugar level which may be elevated by the medication. Thank God she was good enough to be discharged after just three days and continue her medication at home. Continue to pray for her health and speedy recovery.
After He Yuan City, Rev. Fan Hong-En and I traveled to Tai Po County for the Bai-Hui Church dedication ceremony in the morning of May 17. The ABC and the F-2 co-sponsored 100,000 Yuan last year for their land purchase and road construction project. Another 350,000 Yuan were raised by Sister Lin Qing-Zhen in Hong Kong last year for the new church building. Although the main building project has been completed, a 50,000 Yuan construction fee is still pending. Including the repair of the outside slope, surrounding area and retaining walls, 200,000 Yuan is still needed. Please remember Bai-Hui Church in your prayers. That afternoon I was worshiping at Wang-Lan Church and preaching God’s good news. After Wang-Lan I was transferred to Meizhou City and preached in the evening service at the East Gate Church. Early Monday morning was back to Clifford Estate for Kathy’s 2 pm follow up doctor visit. The entire Tuesday was traveling to Hong Kong for Kathy’s treatment. On Tuesday night we were at the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary, presenting the Rev. and Mrs. Loren Noren scholarship to Chung Pui-Kit.
On April 21 I traveled to Lhasa, Tibet on behalf of the ABC International Mission Department. The purpose of this trip is to visit and evaluate Jatson Chuming Welfare Special School. Prior to my arrival at Lhasa, I stopped by Xi-Ning City in Qing Hai Province. During my visit to the local churches, I noticed that many of them cannot afford to hire theological seminary graduates. Most churches were staffed by layman volunteers. This is beyond the scope of the F-2 which focused on giving assistance to graduates of theological seminaries. Nevertheless, with the recommendation of the Qing Hai Province Christian Association, the F-2 was able to reach out to Mr. Zhang Hai-Kuo. Zhang is a 2003 Yang-Jing Theological Seminary graduate and is serving at the De-ling-ha Church. The minimal living expense in this remote bordering city is 800 Yuan per month. He only receives 200 Yuan from the church and 400 Yuan from the province. Because of the recent financial downfall, the province proposed to eliminate all assistances to Zhang. We requested the province agency maintain a 200 Yuan per month assistantship, with 200 Yuan from the church and 400 Yuan from F-2 to make up the difference, so that Zhang can continue his ministry.
I left Lhasa on April 25 to visit churches in Tai-Yuan City in Shan Xi province. The general appearance of the city and the life of the citizen had improved a great deal. Wu-Tai County Church, a recipient of the F-2 funds last year, had increased their minister’s monthly allowance from 300 Yuan to 700 Yuan per month and no longer required our assistance. A few of the village churches still need our support. Three Shan Xi churches will be added to the list to receive the F-2 funding:
Fen-Xi County Church—Gu Ling- Feng , a 2004 Yan-Jing Theological Seminary graduate, received 300 Yuan monthly from the church. After the birth of her child last year, her monthly allowance stopped and she worked as an unpaid volunteer. Starting in May 2009, the church will receive 500 Yuan from the F-2 each month so that she can continue her fulltime employment.
Yun Cheng City, Yong-Ji Church—Wu Cui-Xia, graduated from Yan-Jing in 1990, since her husband is a village doctor, did not receive any allowance at all. Their older child is currently attending high school and the younger one is physically disabled. They are showing sign of financial strain and the F-2 is giving 300 Yuan per month to support her ministry.
Xin-Zhou Church—Zhang Zhong-Sheng, another Yan-Jing graduate, was hired in 2007 with 400 Yuan allowance per month. The F-2 will offer an additional 100 Yuan per month to meet the minimum living standard.
Thank God for His mercy, even though we experience this financial turmoil, we feel strongly about what Jesus had told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthian 12:9) Up until April 2009 the F-2 had collected enough funds to support the forty theological seminary graduates who are serving in poor village churches for the entire year. The funds which will be collected in the following months will be used in land purchase, repair, remodeling and maintenance of various churches in China. Continue to pray for the F-2 ministry, pray for God’s grace and blessings as we offer to Him, so that many others will receive His grace also. May His many blessings be upon us.
